Honk Falls Knife Co. 1921-1929

[wlf]

Sorry.
No, I meant the bone was a knife mechanic’s choice.When I got it, it didn’t have handles.

[JAMESC41001]

Ahh ha, I’m a little slow here. Very nice work

[LongBlade]

Lyle - That Honk Falls double end wharncliffe (?) is a stunner ... the blades & handles are awesome - actually the handles are scary awesome as it goes to show that a talented knife mechanic can do work where quite honestly I couldn’t tell you if those handles were original or not - not in this case but I would have thought as found ...

[wlf]

Thanks everybody.

[Lilrooster56]

I have just recently purchased a honk falls pocket knife and would like to know the pattern and any info about it here are some pictures

[FRJ]

Welcome here, Lilrooster56.
I think the pattern of your knife might be called a swell center coffin jack. There may be differing opinions.
I can't give you any further information on the knife but there are knowledgeable folks here who can help you.
They need to see this thread and chime in. I hope.
I will say, though, that you have a beautiful knife. A very beautiful knife.
Very nice covers and a desirable pattern with fine bolsters. A beautiful shield and great blades.
And a terrific Honk Falls stamp. It's got everything going for it.
I hope you get more responses.
Thanks for showing it.

[JAMESC41001]

That is a pattern I have not seen. Very nice. The jigged bone and the mark are correct. Many Honk Falls patterns follow patterns that were offered by Napanoch knife but not all. I don’t remember seeing that in the nap catalog but I will look. Thanks for posting it. Every new Honk offers more clues to piece together.

[doglegg]

Lilrooster you know how to make an entrance. That is a very charming old knife. Love the bones and the blades. Welcome and congratulations.

[Duffer]

Lilrooster56, fabulous swell center jack and a very scarce one at that! Welcome aboard

[Lilrooster56]

Thanks to all of you and your info and it looks like I got a good one to hold on to thanks

[JAMESC41001]

You sure do. Can you provide the length of the knives closed? Open as well would be great. I looked around a bit. I don’t believe Napanoch Knife offered that pattern. Both Winchester/Keen Kutter offered that pattern but the one that most resembles yours is the knife offered by Ulster. I mention this because it was common for companies to work together on orders. The Honk Falls factory fell victim to a fire and was destroyed. Ulster was not far away and there were many connections to it. Lots of history with Honk Falls.

[Robo]

James--I love the history of these companies and their connections with other companies through contracts and labor and management. I obsess about this all the time--mostly in my head. I can't wait to get my hands on this book. Good luck!!

Just to clarify... I'm not doubting the knife was factory made with both pulls... but why would one create a long pull that would not open the blade and shape an indent in the handle to access that pull if it won't function as such?

Ken, this perplexes me too. It seems redundant to have two pulls on a blade, especiaally if as you mentioned one was proven not to work well. Then there's the added cost for that extra bit of tooling. But I've been pondering another theory: the long pull isn't a pull but a fuller of sorts. I'm not suggesting that, like a real fuller (often misleadingly called a "blood groove") it was put there to lighten the blade. rather, it was a more decorative groove put there to give the blade a more interseting flow. The question is: were the knives with the two cuts considered premium? was the same pattern knife also made at the same time without the two cuts? Utica for example-- as other companies did--ofered knives at one price point without any top grind and at another price point with the top grind. One could argue that the swedge is there to provide better stabbing/sticking ability but it seems more likely to be a decorative groove ("The term "swage" is from the Old French "souage," meaning "decorative groove") and one that works well as such. Blades with a top grind are always more attractive than ones without. So maybe some cutlers found these knives looked cool with a groove that started at the tang and ended at the begining of the clip and they went with it for a while. And one final point: Unless your fingers are greasy, you don't really need any form of nail pull on large single bladed hunters etc. as they have enough exposed blade when closed to grab and open with the thumb and forefinger. But pocket knife blades look naked without them. So, in a way, nail nicks of any sort on certain knives could be considered decoritive first and practical second.

[wlf]

One thing to keep in mind is that most all these knives were used until there was little blade left to pinch, makers took that into consideration.

[JAMESC41001]

Interesting information. I’ve only handled a couple knives with the double pulls but they both had super strong springs. Definitely needed the extra leverage of the front nail nick.

[KAW]

Interesting theory Robo... and seems plausible, especially for a pattern considered to be a gentleman's knife... bu I'm a bit skeptical about management or a cutler would invest in the cost for a just decorative feature over functionality on what would be considered a workman's knife.

[JAMESC41001]

All this Honk Falls talk is getting me excited. Here are a couple from my collection.

[JAMESC41001]

Well it’s not often these days I get to add a new Honk to the collection. Been waiting for this one for a while. One of those days when your postman is your best friend.

[ea42]

Jay that's an amazing find! Congrats buddy!

Eric

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Eric.

[FRJ]

A beautiful knife. Nice catch.

[Duffer]

Jay, simply outstanding

[LongBlade]

Stunner Jay ... and great score for your collection ...

[JAMESC41001]

Thank you guys. Appreciate it

[RalphAlsip]

James, the Honk Falls coke bottle is a super nice knife.

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Ralph, my first coke bottle hunter. They are a hand full. Always wanted one. Luckily the seller hung on to it for me till I could come up with the scratch. Lots of good people in the knife collecting biz. And here on aapk.